“Why?” I asked with interest.
Alarik seemed to be patient with all my questions. At least someone who wanted to answer them for me.
“Have you ever seen a male Quatura?”
Grace, Julie, their family, my mother... They were all... female.
“I didn’t even know they existed until three days ago.”
He looked at me for a moment before saying, “Diana must have had her reasons...” His gaze slid to the fireplace, where the flames blazed high and made the stone snakes on the mantelpiece frame shimmer. “And I think I would have done the same.”
I looked at the flames again.
Everyone acted like this life with all these superpowers was a burden. Maybe that really was Mum’s reason. After all, there was a cult you had to join and the risk of dying wasn’t exactly small either.
“Where were we? Oh, yes... Anyway, the chances of a male Quatura with elemental powers being born are 1 in 1000.”
So, there were no hybrids and only a few males of these Quatura...
“So, almost only girls are born?” I wondered aloud.
“There are also boys born, but they are almost exclusively ungifted and have to be sent away by their families.”
First of all, Professor Copeland was a fucking encyclopedia. Second, he knew quite a lot about the Quatura, although as far as I knew, he wasn’t even allowed to have anything to do with them. And third, couldn’t I have just been born a boy and everything would have been fine? Because deep down, I knew Mum wouldn’t have given me away anyway. And maybe it would have even stopped her from moving here with me, to this bloody hole, full of wolves and witches, Latin curses and cults.
“And to your first question... All these lights here...” He gestured around the room with his hand. “A Quatura has stored some of her energy in here.”
I immediately wondered if my mother could do something like that. And if so, how? How did this elemental crap actually work?
“You should go now. It’s getting late.” Alarik looked outside, where the storm was still raging. “I’ll take you. I have to go that way, anyway.”
“It’s okay,” I declined gratefully and rose from the soft leather cushioning, but Alarik insisted.
“You shouldn’t be out anywhere alone at this time of night. Especially not in Blairville.”
“He didn’t!” Larissa exclaimed, looking at me in amazement.
“Yes, he was actually really friendly and open-minded.”
Larissa grinned. “You’re so lucky that you like books. If I’d been him, I’d have thrown you out of there in a heartbeat.”
“I’m sure it wasn’t because of that.”
I pretended to be offended. I probably would have been if I’d gotten out of there on my own and Larissa hadn’t been there. She hadn’t yet told me how she’d got back to the accommodation and why she hadn’t warned me beforehand.
“So, we know who his favorite student will be.”
“Larissa!” I gave her a warning look.
“Who’s going to be whose favorite student?”
Grace and Julie sat down behind us. It had taken them a little longer to get ready, and Larissa and I had left before they did.
“Professor Copeland has lent Bay a book.”
“What!” Grace looked at me in shock.
I avoided her gaze.
No matter what kind of enmity they had with the Copelands, it wasn’t my problem. I would soon be out of here. And until then, I would convince Larissa to come with me.
“This was supposed to stay between us,” I said, turning to Larissa.
“Whoops.”
Nothing whoops. Now, Grace and Julie probably thought I was hanging out with the werewolves. I could hardly believe it myself, but the professor at least seemed all right.
“Good morning, ladies and gentlemen.”
Alarik came a little late, like the first time, rushing down to his desk in the stair-like lecture room and dropping his thick file folder on the tabletop with a crash. A few loose sheets of paper fell out and sailed to the floor. Some of them had brown coffee stains on the edges.
Alarik’s hair was a little messy, and today he wasn’t wearing a vest, but a blue knitted sweater over his white shirt, the collar of which was slightly creased.
“Sorry I’m late,” he said, clearing his throat, and a few of the guys around Nash laughed and began to whisper.
Nash himself was busy on his cell phone again.
“And I’m sorry I wasn’t there the day before yesterday. I’m sure you all missed me a lot.”
